After being sent home from work yesterday and yielding to the boy's daily push, I saw the GP today.

Bronchopneumonia

As a child, chronic bronchitis was my life. One year I even contracted lobar pneumonia. Oddly enough, after that, respiratory infections ceased and I was instead subject to tonsillitis. The latter being a lot nicer to deal with...

Anyhow, I've been given rest orders for the next three weeks, a six day course of antibiotics and an inhaler. Awesome. Time to stop being stubborn and pretending like I can get over this on my own.

So, I think I need to give some serious considerations to my work environment for the remainder of the time I have. This was a simple cold. I did all the right things. Yet I got a bad bad result. It is ok now but this won't be good for the baby in repeat or down the track...


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Soooo... just when it looked like I was going to hang around here more regularly BAM! I disappear and become strangely evasive about future study commitments. 

Well, truth of the matter is that the idea got dropped like a hot brick rather quickly. Literally, the day before I was scheduled to have that meeting with my boss (I believe that was the post before last) a small spanner came hurtling on the scene. 



I'm normally very good at keep secrets and being able to pick and choose what I share but being pregnant is like growing a second head. There comes a point where it almost comes to blatant lies to keep the truth from emerging.  I promised B that we'd keep it under the lid until we were ready to "come out".  Along the way, when this was going to happen changed several times and now has come to rest on the 12 week mark.

Today we are 12 weeks 2 days and for the large part I can say that this 5.7cm foetus inside of me has been kicking my butt.  I underestimated the effects of the first trimester and although I have been lucky not to be plagued with persistent vomiting, I have instead been subject to intense nausea, food aversions, acid reflux, nasty aftertastes (yes, even water had an aftertaste) and FATIGUE.  While the nausea is generally subsiding I am now finding it a requirement to slip into a coma for an hour or two on a daily basis (goodness knows how I'm going to go at work this week) and have gained near daily headaches.

I have to say that despite the chronic discomfort and the fact that I seem to gain an extra layer of fat just looking at food (not that I can eat anything remotely resembling a big meal anymore), I am stoked to say the least and we are both very, very excited. 

Exercise has been a bit tricky for me.  In the beginning I got scared off doing too much because I had a lot of cramping.  This cramping is actually the uterus stretching to get ready to accommodate for the little homunculus inside but it bears an awful resemblance to those nasty cramps you get at period time.  Unfortunately, when that settled down, nausea set it... pretty much all day and worsening at night.  I've kept two morning sessions a week at stupid o'clock but I always feel sick by the end. 

It is hard because there are whole bunch of restrictions now on what I can and cannot do as well the fact that I can't let my heart rate hang over 150bpm for very long.  (Hence the reason I purchases the HR monitor is previous post).   So, I am hoping that as we ease into the second trimester, I will start to feel better enough that I can increase my activity level a little more!

I've got a stack of ultrasound pics from the last few weeks and even some video but I'll just pop up one of the best ones from yesterday:


 
Of course, the presentation wouldn't be complete without a belly pic to go... Please excuse all feralities to be noted.  Lot of fat and bloat at the moment but eventually it will turn into some baby!



Ironically, this precious little bundle... that I am currently betting is a boy... is due on our wedding anniversary in April next year.  Unreal huh?  On a bit of a tight schedule because my PHI hospital cover kicks in three days before my EDD and my doc goes on holidays five days afterwards... so... there is going to be plenty of natural encouragement once the hospital waiting period is over!  

At worst though, if the homunculus comes a little bit too early I can get transferred to Mater (we are going to be booked in at Sunnybank Private) where my doc has delivery rights.

Okay so that's it!  That's where I've been and that's what I've been up to!  I promise not to flog the daylights out of the baby theme on here and on facebook.  I know it can be a little tiresome when ever update is either pregnancy or child related.

My new toy:

Polar RS100

But this cookie was smart and got it brand new off ebay for a much, much better price!

Sunday is my dedicated rest day... something I have to do by force because I am prone to getting overexcited and trying flog the daylights out of my body!

Only problem with rest days is that I tend to sleep in and it leaves me feeling lethargic for the rest of the day.

Yesterday was W2D1 of the C25K rerun.  Felt it went generally pretty well.  It did take me a bit to get properly warmed up despite doing drills before I started but it felt good and I was left with an awesome endorphin rush afterwards... bouncing around, listening to music on my iPod Shuffle.

I also went and attacked Ekka with KW.  We spent quite a few hours wandering around looking at various odds and ends, getting our respective fills.  I have decided that I would like a baby goat. They bounce around, meeeehhhhhhh, clip clop their hooves, eat clothing and do cute things like sleep in the hay bucket.  I would be particularly happy if said goat grew up with a personality like one that we saw.  He or she was very intrigued by our presence and then proceeded to use their front hooves to climb up the fence and look into stall next door!  In some of our explorations we found a little calf that was only a few hours old. For something so young it was very big and boney!!! 

There was some fun to be had playing games although, I don't remember the attendants being quite so harassing!  There seemed to be a general lack of variety too...  but we came away with a plethora of stuffed toys despite our poor performances!  I think a niece and nephew of mine will be getting lucky soon!

Finished off at the show bag pavilion.  We opted to go there last so we wouldn't have to carry anything around and fortunately, we both knew what we wanted because literally minutes after we walked in it was like the population of Brisbane descended on the Ekka and we spent the entire time from show bags to exit forcing our way through a mass of moving bodies!  Note to self:  Never set out for Ekka in the afternoon!

I came home exhausted and was in bed by 8pm after a few mini naps.  I am spared the flu this time!!

Tomorrow I've got a busy day planned.  W2D2 in the morning, the meeting with my boss, meeting with the tax accountant, maybe a catch up with KD and then boxing with RB.  Not sure if I will do the kickboxing session afterwards.  Might give it a few more fortnights before I try to add that in seeing my arms went into crazy swelling mode after my last intense four day marathon!

Tonight was my first Friday night boxing session.  It was great cause I have a mate, RB, who comes with me and we are both learning but are just that little mischievous! Friday night is more about learning technique rather than physical intensity and I have to say it was a fantastic help.  I came away feeling like I'd learned a whole lot and actually improved!   Might have to see if I can hoon it over on the weeks I am at work.

Funny how I thought my sparring was all very random and lacking in much good technique... but now as I am trying to adjust to boxing, I am seeing very definite karate techniques in what I do.  Which is good for two reasons. Firstly, all those years of did actually translate into something and secondly, I can actually recognise when I am trying to pull a karate move. 

Broke out my wraps for the first time tonight too and kinda felt just a little bit less newbie-ish that way.

Go back on Monday night.  Always feel just so good after boxing!

What else have I been up to? 

Been at work this week and it has been quite stressful and busy.  But on the days between PT, I have put my new Gel shoes to use and restarted C25K using the new running technique. Tomorrow I will be up to W2D1.  Hoping that when I get to the end, running will be a lot easier this time.  My aim is to run a 5k race at the end before working up to 10k and then hopefully, do another 10k race without ending in hours of vomiting and diarrhoea!

Tomorrow I am braving the Ekka with N!  I will probably end up with tonsillitis again or some other feral disease but I am oddly excited.  I haven't been in quite a few years and I do enjoy the atmosphere and colour and baby animals etc.  Should be a really good day!  Can't wait!!!

Next week I am officially telling my boss that I will be returning to full time study next year!  So very excited!  Sent off a query to Bond Uni today to see if I would be consider if I applied through Alternative Entry.  Even if not, will still through my hat in the ring... can't hurt.  In the meantime, purchase some GAMSAT prep and get studying ahead of uni next year.  Want to be on top of that element before I need to get focused to smash up my first year of midwifery.  Yep! This girl has got a plan and feeling fantastic!

Anyway, think I am up for an early night tonight!

I've had a very productive day today!  Went and got a new pair of running shoes and allowed myself to feel privileged at being chatted up by the young guy who was serving me.  Now have a good pair of shoes which shall hopefully not give me shin pain.  No idea what I got but they are ASICS and I don't remember if they were trainer approved! LOL!

Also went and bought some new workout clothes as well as underwear for work and working out.  Finished off with a last minute grocery shop so that I am sorted for lunch foods at work.

Today I am terrrrrrribly sore.  Had a killer session yesterday morning and then ladies kickboxing in the afternoon. 

So... I've received a bit of feedback from family and friends alike that I should aim a little higher with my career choice. I've spent quite a bit of time thinking and researching this proposal.  I have subsequently altered my plan of attack.   Version two will be that at the end of this year I put in an application through QTAC for Bond Med, ACU Midwif, SBIT Anaes. and QUT Med Sci.    (I can hear RJ shrieking at me already about UQ being the only place in the universe to study med).   I will obtain a GAMSAT prep course (the choices....) and complete GAMSAT next year and then reapply at the end of next year for only med based courses.

Bond uni does not run from GAMSAT and has FEE-HELP places.  They do an interview and prefer a GPA of >5.5 on the most recent course of study.  My GPA is 5.375 thanks to my stodgy efforts in early uni.  I figure that I can throw my hat in the ring and see what happens. 

After that, Midwifery is ideal because it is a low demand course locally which will allow me to making a killing on the GPA scale.  Worst comes to worst, I qualify as a midwife and that is totally sweet with me - it was something that I thought was interesting after placement at Redcliffe while studying to be a paramedic.  So, after a year of that I reapply to everything offering medicine.  I figure that I am not going to be fussy. I just want to get in.  Obviously, UQ with all the reputational glory would be ideal but their entry is based solely on GAMSAT now.  Bond will take more interest in me with a good GPA and Griffith... well... who knows. 

The other preferences are there as a safety net along the way... for a whole lot of just in case.

Off to a boxing and kickboxing double tonight.  Should have some company with RB this time... be nice to have a familiar face amongst the crowd!

Today has been a pretty awesome day! 

Bit of a sleep-in this morning and then drove up Glass House Mountain way and tackled Mt. Beerburrum with K.  It was even steeper than I remember but we got up it a lot faster than I remember doing it last time. I had my backpack with our water bottles and phones.  It felt like as anything... until we hit the side and suddenly it was really, really hard!!! LOL!  We swapped the pack around a couple of times but eventually made it to the top.  Spent a a little while on top of the lookout just chatting about life before meandering back down.  Then it was off to the Coffee Club for lunch.  Was good and had a lean ham and tomato relish wrap. 

We are planning to go back and have a go out Mt. Tibrogargan in about a fortnight. Last time I went up there was NYE. We got a fair way up before we had to climb... which was a little bit hard to do given the backpack and giant torch in the darkness.  It will be good to have another go during daylight without the extra bits in the hand.  Love that K is so keen to go adventuring with me. Pity we aren't on the same side of the river or we'd make great gym buddies.

So, anyway...  I've been feeling a bit frustrated with my current place of employment and have been pottering around in circles trying to find somewhere else I could be.  I am not even sure how I found it... but I stumbled across a professional entitled "anaesthetic technician" and I just went WOW! THAT EXISTS!?  Yeah ok... so it is the personal slave of the anaesthetist but it sounds awesome!  Yes, a pay cut.  Yes, probably shift work. But goodness... nice controlled environment away from the elements, no dealing with non-emergency patients and looking at all sorts of fun surgical procedures!  So, at this stage, I am looking to drop back into casual employment while I complete an 18 month TAFE course.

I've been such an academic snob.  I've always been against TAFE and diploma wasn't good enough.  But then I did a degree in paramedic which turned out to be less useful than an Arts degree... so I've come to have a bit more of an open minded. 

I did consider going into Medicine and specialising in anaesthetics, obstetrics or fertility. I also considered midwifery.  But I think a year and a half on a wage and a bit will be rough enough, let alone three or longer. It is a scary, scary thing and I will give it some time to make sure I am happy with the decision but I think, the plunge has gotta be taken if anything is going to change.

Here's to a new start!

I'm absolutely stuffed!!!  I have not been this sore in such a long time.  My whole body is pain and it hurts to so much as roll over in bed! Possibly went a little bit too hard in my first week!

Wednesday night I did the stand up boxing and kick boxing double.  Haven't been feeling so hot since that point!

I am absolutely LOVING this stuff!!  I am hungry to learn more and to get better.  It has been ages since I've Youtubed like a crazy ass trying to learn more! 

Boxing was taken by a trainer called Bolash.  He has a very thick accent but I generally was able to work out what I needed to do.  There was a good mix of fitness and technical training.  We actually played shoulders and knees!  Actually, it was more like heads and ankles but it was something I was familiar with and could do quite well. Boxing the bag was alright. Shadow boxing was alright. Sparring was NOT alright. Myself and the other new guy were only allowed to do jabs and I felt like a white belt ALL over again.  I mean fully retarded!!!  I couldn't see anything coming and whenever I did stick my fist out, it was at a completely inappropriate time and I walked into quite a few punches. Every time I went to punch my other hand would try and return to my ribs and end up dropping down into some random useless position.  Oh well, practise and I'll get better I suppose!

The fitness side was pretty hard core with lots of burpees. The rest of the group were soooo fast!!  I thought groups of 10 burpees was enough... until we did bag work and each set was broken up by 50 push ups and 50 sit ups.  I looked around and not a single person batted an eyelid... and again just ripped through it.  Then of course there were the burpees from hell which involved jumping up, grabbing the edge of the supporting roof struts and doing a chin up in between.  This was challenging for two reasons.  I had to get over my fear of missing the ledge for a start... the other part being unable to do a chin up which means I hung for a second, strained a bit before plopping back down into a burpee. My fingers are actually bruised from that!

There were two other girls in the class who had clearly been doing it for a while. One had me totally impressed, not only could she bash things really well, she could do proper push ups and chin ups!  I gotta get like her!!!!

The hour class seemed long and I felt I had worked hard.

The next session was kickboxing with a smaller guy called Adam.  There were quite a few people who I could see were less experienced.  I didn't make a point of saying I was new.  We started with skipping and shadow boxing.  Even though I felt awkward as anything, I kept telling myself "fake it until you make it" and did my best to adapt karate to boxing with my technique.  Must have done alright cause when he gathered us newer folks around he pointed to me and said "so you've done some kickboxing before"... cue feeling internally chuffed!  The more experienced people were in the ring sparring.  The rest of us were learning how to catch kicks, destroy the opponent and then escape from a caught kick.  That was more painful because of repetition.  We finished off the session with bag work.

I really feel my weakness in terms of footwork and combination creativity are marked doing this stuff but I do hope to improve in time.  I also struggled a bit with breaking out of non-contact punch pulling mode. I am there with Bolash and he's like "try and hit me!!!". Part of it was a respect thing... coming from a culture where you don't hit the sensei. Part of it was because I didn't really know how to try to actually sock a person unless in competition or very angry! It is funny though, in boxing the shoulders get raised when punching as a protective mechanism and that just is so natural to me.  Perhaps I will find my forte in kick boxing!

Yesterday morning PT turned sore upper body into equally sore lower body and then got flogged in boot camp (which was indoors) this morning.  I am so incredibly sore but I feel awesome!!!  It has been ages since I have felt this good.  Last night I declined take away and had pasta as a side serving to vegetables.  WHAT?!?  Pasta as a SIDE SERVING!? Since when do I do that!?? I am feeling so inspired to eat well.  I want to get lean and I want to get stronger.  I want to be good at this!  Can't wait to sort out my new training schedule!  I know I have gone nuts because I just want to do something everyday!  I know now I have to rest.  I can barely do push ups on my knees due to fatigue so really gotta rest but it is calling me!!

Tomorrow I am going to tackle Mt Beerburrum with K.  Cannot wait! I haven't been up since NYE with B.  Mt. Beerburrum is paved track.  In the beginning I thought it was soft but it suddenly gets very steep and just having a simple backpack with water on made the going sooo tough.  There was a lot of wheezing and soreness!  That was before sunrise even.  Tomorrow we are heading out in the morning but will probably be setting off at about 10am.  Hopefully, the cooler weather will serve us well!  Should be great!!!

So I am on the count down back to work.  I can't say I am really looking forward to it.  December seems like a long time away for more holidays and universe will have changed in that time! lol!  I have that horrible itch yet again to do something different.  I wouldn't mind being a civilian with normal hours of work.  I'd miss all the holidays and days off but something different would just be divine!  Problem is that I am not really qualified to do a whole lot other than ambulance work and I only have management experience as opposed to qualifications.  But who knows... might start doing some digging!

Brrrrrr! It is COLD this morning!!

Sooooo.... with much nervous anxiety, I went off to my first kickboxing session last night and I have to say that I absolutely LOVED  it!

The gym is slightly run down with use but feels cozy as anything!  There are all manner of kick bags and targets hanging from the ceilings, attached to walls and even free standing. Evidence of some written physical nightmares, skipping ropes, steps, chin up contraptions and for goodness knows what reason, a massive flat screen TV.  At the back, there is even a boxing ring! 

The staff are incredibly friendly and I was floored the co-owner, this elite champion with rippling abs actually noticed my existence and said hello. 

It was apparently a rare night where most of the crowds had stayed away because of the cold.  The boxing class had only one student and the ladies gig was comprised of just the four of us.  I was taken by a woman who I could see had a wealth of experience.  She was very encouraging and able to provide sensible instruction, catering to each of our needs.  I didn't get much of a chance to sticky beak at where the other girls were at although I knew one was new and the other two didn't have a fighting or great fitness background.

After getting over my initial nervousness, I felt completely at home and HUNGRY to learn.  Bringing my guard back to my face instead of the floating rib proved to be a great challenge and all my usual weaknesses were uncovered pretty quickly.  We did a fair bit of punching and kicking bags as well as combination work before moving onto some progressive fatigue exercises utilising either push ups or crunches with either jabs or palm heel strike.  Finally, we did some very basic self defence...  Funnily enough... nothing new... things I'd done before in GKR.  In fact, there weren't any concepts in the whole session which I hadn't learned through GKR but I was given the attention to fix errors.

Spending a good hour belting things was hard work. I was had a decent sweat and a stitch by the end of it. It wasn't brutal but it was a great deal of fun.  So I signed up.  $20/week on the winter special which entitles to me unlimited access to classes.  There is boxing on every night, followed by kickboxing Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Boxing Saturday morning and the ladies alternative on Tuesday evenings. Talk about stunning value!  I am totally, totally stoke and can say that I haven't felt this enthusiastic about anything since I started karate.  Ever get this feeling like things were just meant to be???


As a side note, it has been a busyish week so far.  Caught up with K1 on Monday and was literally pwned by the sunshine coast.  Yeah... never trust google maps or my stupid phone again which couldn't locate my position to save itself.  Last night I checked again only to see that it thought I was a whole suburb north of my bedroom.  So, always look at the refidex - never go with wrong that!  Don't I just sound like an old fashioned biddy!! We went out for lunch and then spent a few hours chatting about everything work, uni, love, leisure, life etc.    Yesterday I tripped around to pick up some supplements and procrastinated terribly before calling about the sessions. (So glad that I Niked!). Today, catching up with L at Carindale for lunch and movie probably.  See how I go for the rest of the week.  Maybe catching up with K2 over the weekend. But I probably also need to conserve a little bit of my time next week before I have to start back at work.  Boy I wish I could put the brakes on that!

Going back for the boxing and kickboxing double tonight!

At the end of last year, after nine years of GKR Karate, I graded to nidan.  While I was all enthusiastic after that point, I was soon met with both a change of management and some Christmas holidays which quite decidedly killed my motivation.  GKR has been a part of my life for a long time.  In fact, my affiliation with that organisation has run longer than any other in my short life. 

I started in middle high school.  My immediate friendship circle thought it would be cool to do and when GKR came knocking, they signed up.  After much hassling of my poor parents, they agreed to let me join on the grounds of being ideal for self defence.  From day one, I loved it!!  I used to train on a Wednesday night at the local PCYC and could not wait for that night to come around each week. 

Unfortunately, I did allow myself to become involved in the politics, taking on a sempai role immediately after my 3rd kyu grading and later instructing my own class in two different regions.  While it is not a decision that I would undo, it definitely changed my perspective on the club irreversibly. 

GKR is very addictive and draws heavily on the power of social connections to keep both students and instructors returning, long after their interest has flagged.  I have learned in the martial arts world that every organisation believes they are right, the best and only way.  GKR definitely had its limitations but I hadn't really found them to be obstructive to my own personal goals.  However, after nidan I began to reassess what it was that I really wanted and another quarter dozen years of training for another certificate with no greater goal than perfecting the basics under the uninspiring management of a boy barely old enough to drive... just didn't seem appealing. (Yes this is a gross and derogatory simplification of reality). Time lapsed.... 

These holidays have been refreshing and I've been trying to reorganise my life such that I enjoy it.  I realised that I missed having a focus, something to enjoy and dedicate my time towards.  I considered training again but knew deep down that it was time for a change.  GKR being a mixture of GoJuRyu and Shotokan gave me a taste of two worlds.  My preference lied heavily towards Shotokan and that was a style I wanted to pursue.  I also wanted to do something that was going to be a little "harder" than sports karate.  Unfortunately, I found that I had difficulty locating organisations with training opportunities that would be accessible with any frequency around shift work.  Looking around at galleries and videos of different clubs, it also became quite obvious that although GKR is considered the McDonalds on the martial arts world, there were very few places that actually produced students of a significant higher quality and what I consider to be important has also been tainted by GKR ideals.

It was on suggestion from a friend that I started to look outside gis, ranks and belts.  I was lucky to find a local training centre for boxing , kickboxing and muay thai. They also offer classes most days and sometimes more than one class per night!  Stoked! I finally got the guts up to call today and tonight will be heading to my first session.  It is a womens class which is all non-contact but it will be a great start and allow me to familiarise without getting too scared.  I am soooo excited!!!  I am hoping that this will work well and then I can combine it with weights and PT to become a lean, mean fighting machine!   Okay... perhaps not quite like that but drop the extra body fat and regain some of my fitness while learning to actually use my arms in a more functional way than sports karate will allow!

Hopefully, hopefully it will mean the physical/leisure side of life is squared away and then I can worry about work after that.